The Tournament

Primary schools from Waltham Forest and Haringey are invited to join a team of six players. The tournament is aimed at pupils who are new to competitive chess. Knowledge of how the pieces move is essential, but there is no minimum standard of proficiency – many of the players will be beginners. Every competitor will play six games of chess with three points being awarded for a win, two points for a draw, and one point for a loss. There will be trophies for the schools with the highest team scores and medals for the pupils with the highest individual scores. Every child will receive a chess goody bag for participating. 

Timetable

The timetable for the day is as follows:

• 9.30am Schools arrive ready for a 10am start
• 10am Lessons with a chess tutor
• 11am Simultaneous game against a chess expert
• 12pm Break for lunch
• 12.30pm Tournament begins
• 2.30pm Tournament ends
• 2.45pm Prizegiving
• 3pm Schools depart 

Pupils will need to be accompanied by a teacher and should bring a packed lunch which they can eat on-site. 

Preparing for the tournament

CSC can provide online accounts for each participant. We recommend ChessKid for primary school pupils. ChessKid is an online platform that allows children to learn through instructional videos, interactive lessons, and by playing other children from across the world. The system is designed for use by children of KS2 and has many features to ensure online safety. For more details, please see our guide “ChessKid – CSC Guide for Schools”, available here.

There are more free worksheets, videos, and Kahoot quizzes available on the Chess at Home page of the CSC website. 

About CSC 

CSC is a UK charity whose mission is to improve children’s educational outcomes and social development by introducing them to the game of chess. Founded in 2009, we have now supported over 3,000 schools nationwide with chess lessons, clubs, equipment, and training and currently teach in 380 schools every week. More details of our Schools’ Programme can be found here. 

Photography 

CSC will be taking photographs during the day and the images may be used for publicity purposes. If there are any children or adults in your school party who should not be photographed, please inform any member of CSC staff on the day of the event. 

Contacts

For questions about the event, or to register your school for the tournament, please contact CSC’s Regional Coordinator, George Horan (george@chessinschools.co.uk).